Gourley



Feb. 7, 1956 F. GOURLEY NURSING BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Oct. 2, 1953 IN V EN TOR.

G o uezsy United States PatentO NURSING BOTTLE HOLDER Fred Gourley, El Paso, Tex.

Application October 2, 1953,Serial No.383,789

2 Claims. (Cl. 248- 1115) .This inven ion relate to bot l holde d m P ticularly to a holder for infants nursing bottles.

It is an object of this invention to provide a baby bottle holder in which the bottle can be held at varying levels from the surface upon which it is supported so that the baby can reach the nipple of the bottle in various positions and the level can be varied as the baby increases in size requiring a different feeding level with regard to the nursing bottle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a nursing bottle holder which will prevent breakage of the bottle by absorbing the impact force when the bottle is thrown or dropped.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a nursing bottle holder which because of its construction and the material from which it is made will provide a teething surface, and also can be made in a variety of colors so the holder, when not holding a bottle, will be available to the infant as a toy.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, forming the specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bottle holder embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view; and

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 on Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, the bottle holder, generally indicated at 10, is formed as a single unit from a resilient material such as rubber preferably, or a suitable plastic material as by molding. The resilient material from which the bottle holder is made may be tinted in varying colors to appeal to the infant and to the parents and may be thoroughly and easily cleaned to keep the holder sanitary. The holder 10 is primarily designed to safely hold a nursing bottle 12 supplied with the usual nipple 14,

Figure 1, and in addition may be used as a toy and a teething device for the infant as well as providing an impactabsorbing means preventing breakage of the bottle 12 when in the holder 10 by accidental dropping or by being thrown by the infant.

The holder 10 comprises a generally square base plate defining the body 16, the corners of which are rounded as at 18. A pair of spaced supports 20 extend laterally from and approximately normal to the opposite faces 22 and 24 of the body 16 equidistantly therefrom and intermediate the ends of each of the sides 21 of the body 16.

The body 10 is provided with an aperture 26 offset longitudinally and transversely of the center of the body 10. Extending laterally from and perpendicular to the face 22 of the body 10 is a cylindrical cup 28 molded integrally with the periphery of the aperture 26 in the body 10. As seen in Figures 3 and 4, the portion 30 of the cup 28 remote from the body 10 is tapered toward the base 32 of the cup so that a nursing bottle, regardless 'ice of its shape, can be accommodated and securely held within the cup 28. The base 32 is provided with an aperture 34 extending centrally transversely therethrough to facilitate cleaning of the cup 28 after use with a nursing bottle, such as bottle 12, so that a sanitary condition will prevail with a minimum of effort. In addition, provision of the aperture 34 facilitates the insertion and withdrawal of the bottle 12 by providing an air escape vent so that no resistance because of air compression will be encountered in the insertion nor a vacnm condition encountered upon removal.

Looking at Figure 4, it will be seen that a plurality of rings 36 extend transversely of the cup 28 in spaced parallel relation. Each of the rings 36 is provided with an opening 38 centrally therethrough, the opening in the ring most closely adjacent the body 10 is of larger diameter than the opening of the succeeding spaced rings and the opening in each of the successive rings toward the base 32 is correspondingly diminished in diameter so that, in effect, there is provided a central tapering guide for the insertion and securing of the bottle 12. Since the rings 36 are formed of a resilient material, as previously stated, the holder 10 is an integrally molded unit, the bottle 12 will be resiliently supported by the rings 36 within the cup 28.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a nursing bottle holder which because of the provision of the oifset bottle-receiving aperture 26 offset from the center of the holder body 16 will enable the bottle to be placed at varying levels from the surface upon which it is supported merely by turning the holder body to the desired side thereof. Also, due to the resilient supporting nature of the rings 36 within the bottle holding cup 28, the bottle 12 retained in the cup 28 of the holder 10 will be insulated from breakage by accidental dropping or throwing by the infant being fed. Further, the holder 10 when not used to support a nursing bottle is adaptable as a toy for the infant and also, due to the ease with which the holder can be cleaned, adaptable for use as a teething device for the infant. In use of the device as a bottle holder the supports 26 retain the holder 16 and the bottle 12 therein in a selfsustaining position so that the infant may feed therefrom. So that, the supports 20 are in the nature of spaced feet upon which the holder 10 may rest.

While there are shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the structure is susceptible to change and modification within the practicability of the invention and therefore should be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is: l. A nursing bottle holder adapted to be supported upon a surface, said holder being formed of rubber as a single unit comprising a vertical plate defining a body having an aperture therein offset longitudinally and trans versely of the center of said body, a bottle-receiving cup molded integrally with said body along the periphery of said aperture and extending laterally from one face of said body, said cup having a plurality of spaced parallel rings extending transversely of its interior, each of said rings having an opening centrally therethrough, the opening in the ring most closely adjacent said body being of larger diameter than the openings in the others of said rings and the openings in successive rings being gradually diminished in diameter toward the end of said cup remote from said body to define a tapering guide in said cup so that the bottle received in said cup will be resiliently and securely retained in said cup, and insulated from impact caused by dropping the holder, and a pair of spaced supports extending laterally from and perpendicular to opposite faces of said body at the peripheral edge of each side of said body to provide feet to retain the holder and bottle in the desired position with regard to the level of the bottle above the surface upon which the holder is supported.

2. A nursing bottle holder adapted to be supported upon a surface, said holder being formed of rubber as a single unit comprising a vertical plate defining a body having an aperture therein offset longitudinally and transversely of the center of said body, a bottle-receiving cup molded integrally with said body along the periphery of said aperture and extending laterally from one face of said body, said cup having a plurality of spaced parallel rings extending transversely of its interior, each of said rings having an opening centrally therethrough, the opening in the ring most closely adjacent said body being of larger diameter than the openings in the others of said rings and the openings in successive rings being gradually diminished in diameter toward the end of said cup remotefrom said body to define a tapering guide in said cup so that the bottle received in said cup Will be resiliently and securely retained in said cup, and insulated from impact caused by dropping the holder, and a pair of spaced supports extending laterally from and perpendicular to opposite faces of said body at the peripheral edge of each side of said body to provide feet to retain the holder and bottle in the desired position With regard to the level of the bottle above the surface upon which the holder is supported, and an aperture in the end of said cup remote from said body to facilitate cleaning of said cup, and to facilitate insertion and removal of the bottle inserted in said cup.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

